Real Estate
-
July 17, 2025
Forms of beneficial ownership: Inheriting gifts as joint tenants, tenants in common
When property is held by more than one person, beneficial ownership takes one of two forms — joint tenancy or tenancy in common. These forms of beneficial ownership also apply when a will leaves a testamentary gift to multiple beneficiaries, regardless of whether the will expressly addresses the intended form of joint ownership. If a will is silent on this point, the form of beneficial ownership will simply be determined through legal presumptions.
-
July 16, 2025
Ontario Court of Appeal upholds municipal authority in Stratford encroachment dispute
In a decision that could provide guidance for property owners, municipalities and municipal law practitioners, the Ontario Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal by a Stratford, Ont., property owner who sought to avoid entering into a city encroachment agreement for structures built on a municipal road allowance, ruling that the city never expressly approved the encroachments despite having issued building permits and occupancy certificates.
-
July 16, 2025
RESIDENTIAL TENANCIES - Termination by landlord - Illegal acts - Recovery of possession
Appeal by tenant from denial of application for stay of order of possession pending hearing of his judicial review application. The tenant removed pieces of artwork from the laundry room of the apartment building, claiming he did so to preserve the artwork from potential disposal.
-
July 16, 2025
Dentons stands by its commitment to inclusion as it navigates trade volatility, say CEOs
These are “interesting times” to be one of the world’s largest law firms. With about 5,900 lawyers across more than 80 countries, Dentons is helping clients navigate some of the worst economic volatility in decades and generational technological change as it carefully works to protect its own flanks from a U.S. administration that’s frequently been hostile to the legal sector. Global CEO Kate Barton said that while several major U.S. law firms have been targeted by President Donald Trump — particularly those perceived as opposing him or representing his adversaries — Dentons has managed to avoid the administration’s scrutiny by maintaining a bipartisan approach.
-
July 16, 2025
Prepare for change: The plain language legal writing standard is coming
What lawyer has not heard that legal writing should be clear and concise? Everyone wants legal documents to be straightforward, client-oriented and “crisp.” Yet, cryptic memoranda, wordy submissions, legalese-filled judgments and insurmountable walls of text in contracts and policies remain common. Even with clarity in mind, writing clearly is hard without knowing the rules to guide the process.
-
July 15, 2025
Court allows class action certification for settlement in real estate investment dispute
The Ontario Superior Court of Justice has allowed certification of a class action against approximately 32 named defendants for the purposes of settlement, relating to investors’ interest in a sold property and alleging various breaches and misappropriation of funds.
-
July 15, 2025
RESIDENTIAL TENANCIES - Landlord’s remedies - Eviction order - Grounds for granting order
Appeal by landlord from an order granting the tenants’ petition for judicial review of Residential Tenancy Branch arbitrator’s decision. The conflict arose when the appellant issued an eviction notice to the respondents, citing cause under the Residential Tenancy Act.
-
July 15, 2025
B.C. approves new rules, regulations for mortgage service industry
The Government of British Columbia has approved new rules and regulations for the mortgage service industry to protect homebuyers across the province.
-
July 14, 2025
Federal Court judge strikes SRL’s submission in employment dispute over AI hallucination citation
In another sign of AI’s growing impact on the law, the Federal Court has ordered that a self-represented respondent’s motion record be removed from a court file because it relied in part on a non-existent court decision hallucinated by an artificial intelligence (AI) research tool.
-
July 14, 2025
FINTRAC publishes updates to its guidance on ministerial directive on Iran
Canada’s anti-money laundering watchdog has updated its existing guidance related to the federal government’s ministerial directive on financial transactions associated with Iran.